The Larder Lake gold rush of 1906 was accompanied by discoveries of gold at Swastika and, in 1911, the first strike at Kirkland Lake was made by William H. Wright. The Tough-Oakes became the camp's first producing gold mine in 1912. During the peak years of the late 1930's the Lake Shore, Wright-Hargreaves, Teck-Hughes, Sylvanite, Kirkland Lake Gold, and Macassa mines along the "Main Break", and other properties in the vicinity, employed about 5,000 men, with a yearly output valued at over 30 million dollars. This structure, the company's vault, is all that remains of the original Tough-Oakes mine buildings.

Location

Near the Toburn Vault, the remains of the original Tough-Oakes mine buildings, Highway 66, at the eastern approach to Kirkland Lake

Themes

• Communities
• Industry and trade